Its been said before in other threads and I think it something that the wise, learned folks of Dfans.com could toss around.
Being able to farm for our class set items would be a fun end game activity that I would gladly welcome. Right now I have two pieces of Inna's (helm and belt) and the belt rolled two affixes that I don't like. I took care of one of them, but I'm essentially waiting on sheer luck for another belt to drop with more favorable rolls. While its not the end of the world, I'd like to see a creative way that we could spend our time working toward the goal of getting those specific items and hope that RNG favors the rolls.
Personally, I'd like to see it be a crafting thing with some challenging mats to be able to make the item. For instance:
To make Inna's Favor (belt) you would need: -The usual crafting items of a white belt, crystals, dust and gold -A new legendary crafting material that is unique to each act boss - to which you need all five to make the item -A new legendary crafting material that only drops out of caches - but can drop out of any act's cache -a sub note on this, the legendary item from the cache could actually be a rune that with smart drops is specific to your character's skills. So if you get a rune for a skill that you do not currently use, you can keep it and continue farming until you get the rune you are looking for. Thus when you create the item it will roll with that specific skill and have a range to its percentage.
This would hopefully make act bosses desirable in an old-school sorta way, but also would give more motivation to do Bounties. Since Rifts have the strongest appeal for loot chances, I found myself not caring about Bounties once I had gotten the ring from Act 1. I would happily farm this process to be able to target craft my class set items. If I get unlucky with the roll, then I wash and repeat.
As I see it now, the three easiest areas for target farming class set items are crafting, Kadala or Caches. Which would you prefer - and if you like the crafting idea, what more could be added to it and why?
If this is too giving to the players, then perhaps it could be restricted to only the original class set items and not those added in RoS.
Please don't touch the set items, we're already giving the casuals free legs through crafting. Leave at least a little reason for us to keep playing this game. If you allow easier access to set items, what do you think people are gonna do? Settle for NON set items? Just....leave it as it is.
Sorry, I hate this idea. Not because it makes it "too easy" or "too casual friendly", but because it turns set collection into a chore. Basically, until you have a full class set, you're pretty much gimping yourself if you do anything other than the list of chores needed to craft the set pieces.
We already have plenty of sets that can be farmed via specific monsters. Perhaps those sets can be buffed, but we don't need, and don't want, every set to be like that.
I'm really curious (and I'm not trying to argue or be bitchy) how does this placate or "give the casuals" more reward and hurt the hardcore, long game experience?
Right now you farm Rifts. Over and over and over again.
How long do you think you can sustain that one activity, before you the hardcore player gets bored? If Rifts are the only viable means of getting the great items you want - you can't sustain that forever and have a sense of variety in the long term game. I know they did it with Diablo 2 and everyone has constantly worked toward providing more than just that base, repetitive experience.
What I'm suggesting will actually help to provide length and longevity to the game - not take it away or make it a quick casual thing. Instead of spending time in a RIFT you spend time in multiple other areas of the game, to try and gather the materials you need to get a chance to craft and roll up a class set item. You still are spending the same amount of time - with no guarantee that you will get the items you need each time you kill a boss or get a cache.
And as I stated in the original post - limit it to the first generation of class set items. So the newer items created for Reaper are still only able to be found in the open world or through Rifts. Besides, I farm the Rifts NOT exclusively for just class set items. There are several legos that I'd like to have and experiment with.
Not to be rude or argumentative - but why does it sound like players are more willing to jump down the throat of a new idea as "ruining the game" rather than consider its potential effectiveness at making this game even better? A lot of posters are tired of the QQing, yet when a thread with a new idea to debate, or consider is created its immediately shot down with a short statement of "casual - ruin game - fuck no"
How do you expect innovation to occur and create more positive experience to your game?
@Sydney - I understand at face value you can say that this idea could be considered a chore. But I respectfully disagree with you and ask you take a look at my reasons why. Going through repetitive motions to get all the materials together to be able to craft a class set item (that still is effected by RNG and its rolls) is no different than farming Rifts over and over again. And for the person that wants to craft a complete set of their class set items - it would be a task they would focus on until its complete. What else would they do - farm Rifts? Isn't that in danger of becoming a chore too? Besides there are other set items that, as I have suggested, can still only drop in the open world. There are other legos (that I personally) would like to have and see what I can do with my DPS and build. You make it sound as if class set items are the only gear people would want to wear.
Polrayne I personally think the crafting idea is pretty solid. the way you laid it out wouldn't be that different from systems already in the game like what they have for the hellfire ring. Your idea aside I applaud the the logical and well-reasoned way you went about your counter argument when the trolls started yelling. It's refreshing to see a reasonable human being post something for a change.
Seems kind of contradictory sets were an "alternative upgrade path" and yet legendaries, which in some cases are better then the set peices, can be gambled yet sets cannot. It would make sense if sets were stronger, yet this isn't always true and often isn't.
I'm really curious (and I'm not trying to argue or be bitchy) how does this placate or "give the casuals" more reward and hurt the hardcore, long game experience?
For me it's not about giving the "casuals" loot or whatever.
It's mostly that if I wanted progression through crafting I'd play Minecraft, not an ARPG. To me the whole "crafting" thing just feels foreign to the ARPG genre to begin with because it takes a ton of the focus off the "action" when you get people standing around town like that. It was something I didn't particularly enjoy about the orb-spamming in PoE either.
In general, I want my gameplay to center on killing monsters or interacting with other players as I find both of those activities to be engaging. I don't find crafting to be engaging. I don't really enjoy making gems and I enjoy making the gear even less. For me crafting is one step above salvaging which is a half step above vendoring. It's not something I really want to be doing as a primary means of attaining gear. No sir, no thank you.
I'm really curious (and I'm not trying to argue or be bitchy) how does this placate or "give the casuals" more reward and hurt the hardcore, long game experience?
For me it's not about giving the "casuals" loot or whatever.
It's mostly that if I wanted progression through crafting I'd play Minecraft, not an ARPG. To me the whole "crafting" thing just feels foreign to the ARPG genre to begin with because it takes a ton of the focus off the "action" when you get people standing around town like that. It was something I didn't particularly enjoy about the orb-spamming in PoE either.
In general, I want my gameplay to center on killing monsters or interacting with other players as I find both of those activities to be engaging. I don't find crafting to be engaging. I don't really enjoy making gems and I enjoy making the gear even less. For me crafting is one step above salvaging which is a half step above vendoring. It's not something I really want to be doing as a primary means of attaining gear. No sir, no thank you.
Thanks Shaggy - I can totally understand and relate to your post.
To be upfront - I love crafting. And I like the play style of ARPGs. I love the idea of exploring a dungeon or area that has a boss that might drop a material I can use to make a piece of gear with. Not the end all be all of my gear - but something that will help propel me further into new environments. I love the sense of accomplishment for my hard work. But I also enjoy playing with friends and the sense of group accomplishment.
I recently got the Cain's plan to drop and started immediately farming Magdha. I spent about an hour solo, crafting two pieces. In the mean time there were several call outs for Rift spots in clan chat. I couldn't go - because I wanted to complete this solo task I had chose to do. I didn't care for that at all.
So I started thinking about ways I could suggest the game become better than it already is. I thought up the idea of crafting the set pieces. I brought it to these forums and it gets welcomed with lovely open arms.
But after your post Shaggy and your willingness to have a DISCUSSION - I can see a new idea. A way to combine your wishes and mine together intoa whole new idea to be discussed and debated and hopefully not told to fuck off because of something new.
So here goes:
What if Rifts spawned a mini boss at 50%? What if that boss had a loot table that drew mainly from crafting materials, set items, shards and maybe a REALLY high pay out of gold, since some folks are starting to run out of their billions? The crafting materials that drop can be used for current plans or if something like I have suggested (crafting set items) comes into play than those materials can drop from this mini boss. Now we have group play, targeted farming of set items and more reasons to play the game?
What do you all think? Shaggy - what do you think? Would that be something that you'd be interested in?
@skulldance: thank you for the compliment. I understand that people's negative backlash can be frustrating - it is to me - but so I can share with you; I don't see it as trolling. I see it as long time posters in these forums getting irritated with new people using the forum to complain. When anyone spends too much time fighting back against what they don't believe in, they tend to fight back at everything - even something that might be fun to talk about.
Would you rather have a fun discussion about a new idea? Or make short curt posts of "fuck no" so you can get back to playing the game or hopping in another "QQ" thread and be witty in tearing another person apart - I don't know.
Quote fromRadglad»
Please don't touch the set items, we're already giving the casuals free legs through crafting. Leave at least a little reason for us to keep playing this game. If you allow easier access to set items, what do you think people are gonna do? Settle for NON set items? Just....leave it as it is.
lol how exactly is it free when they're playing the same game/ doing the same thing as you? You're paying for your items somehow?
What if Rifts spawned a mini boss at 50%? What if that boss had a loot table that drew mainly from crafting materials, set items, shards and maybe a REALLY high pay out of gold, since some folks are starting to run out of their billions? The crafting materials that drop can be used for current plans or if something like I have suggested (crafting set items) comes into play than those materials can drop from this mini boss. Now we have group play, targeted farming of set items and more reasons to play the game?
That's not something I'd gripe about should they implement it. I just don't like it being expanded to include class-specific set items. I'd also caution that rifts are already quite potent and adding more to them might make it even moreso. Perhaps give the caches a chance to drop random crafting materials specific to that act? So instead of farming Maghda only you would kill Maghda and do all the Act 2 bounties? I don't know.
I'm leery about even the current implementation of green/orange crafting because I don't think the game should be "farm Maghda" so that you can have enough "special item dropped by Maghda" to craft "some item of awesomeness." If I wanted that kind of gameplay I'd fire up an MMORPG and farm a boss ad infinatum. To me the randomness of loot is one of the major distinguishing features between an ARPG and an MMORPG. There are others, but it immediately comes to mind, for me, as one of the most pronounced differences. In an MMORPG each boss has a static (or mostly-static) loot table and when you kill them you get a subset of that loot table. In an ARPG you generally have a chance to get any item from any monster at any time.
And I'm not really sold on the blurring of the lines that the current crafting offers. I wouldn't really be on board with further blurring that line.
Quote fromRadglad» Please don't touch the set items, we're already giving the casuals free legs through crafting. Leave at least a little reason for us to keep playing this game. If you allow easier access to set items, what do you think people are gonna do? Settle for NON set items? Just....leave it as it is.
lol how exactly is it free when they're playing the same game/ doing the same thing as you? You're paying for your items somehow?
You obviously didn't play pre 2.0, so I don't care about explaining to you
^
I'd also agree about the iffyness in regards to having to farm specific uniques/bosses for specific legendary mat drops. For as much as they tried to distance themselves from farming specific mobs i.e. farming bosses endlessly for legendaries..they've clearly taken that approach for these materials. While I understand they wanted to add an additional element to crafting..these things just make it more annoying. (i.e. frozenblood of Chiltara who spawns only SOMETIMES in a cave that shares a spawn with another cave.)
What if Rifts spawned a mini boss at 50%? What if that boss had a loot table that drew mainly from crafting materials, set items, shards and maybe a REALLY high pay out of gold, since some folks are starting to run out of their billions? The crafting materials that drop can be used for current plans or if something like I have suggested (crafting set items) comes into play than those materials can drop from this mini boss. Now we have group play, targeted farming of set items and more reasons to play the game?
That's not something I'd gripe about should they implement it. I just don't like it being expanded to include class-specific set items. I'd also caution that rifts are already quite potent and adding more to them might make it even moreso. Perhaps give the caches a chance to drop random crafting materials specific to that act? So instead of farming Maghda only you would kill Maghda and do all the Act 2 bounties? I don't know.
I'm leery about even the current implementation of green/orange crafting because I don't think the game should be "farm Maghda" so that you can have enough "special item dropped by Maghda" to craft "some item of awesomeness." If I wanted that kind of gameplay I'd fire up an MMORPG and farm a boss ad infinatum. To me the randomness of loot is one of the major distinguishing features between an ARPG and an MMORPG. There are others, but it immediately comes to mind, for me, as one of the most pronounced differences. In an MMORPG each boss has a static (or mostly-static) loot table and when you kill them you get a subset of that loot table. In an ARPG you generally have a chance to get any item from any monster at any time.
And I'm not really sold on the blurring of the lines that the current crafting offers. I wouldn't really be on board with further blurring that line.
I can understand.
I guess I have to re-align my thinking to accept the fact that I do prefer a system like an MMO where you go to certain places and expect the potential of certain items. But I also the love feel that any moment you could break a barrel and see a green beam.
What I didn't care for in MMO's was the gameplay itself and the need for sooo many people to be able to accomplish anything. This is why I love the Diablo series and its feel. Plus mashing buttons is waaay more fun than "Now I cast fireball. Now I cast frost nova. Now I cast fireball again."
It goes back to where it all started for me - The Legend of Zelda. Fast paced ARPG style game play - amass a bunch of loot from dungeons that you had to use in other areas to progress. Can you imagine what The Legend of Zelda would be like if it had a Diablo game's loot system? I can: "DUDE - go farm dungeon one and kill all the bats, then leave game and do it again! They're easy and they can drop the best shit in the game! You don't need bows, swords or whistles - BOOMERANG IS SO OP!"
But I have to ask a larger question here - what do you add to the game to maintain longevity? Right now Rifts are the "most efficient" way to get items. If items are truly only able to be found randomly, then most players will continue to do Rifts. More generally, players will follow the most efficient system to get their chance at random loot. This means repetitive gameplay. Pindleskin = Alkazier run = Mira Emon = Rifts. Because the loot is random - why go anywhere else?
But if the item isn't random - if it is only able to be found in one area or has a greater chance to be found in one area - now you have repetitive variety.
Bounties did this. But they did it with a limited amount of items that were pleasurable to find. Unique crafting mats also do this, but they too are dependent on the plan to drop before you can really make this a priority.
I just don't understand why so many ask for innovation, but cry out against change? Surely people can see that Rifts have a shelf life before they become displeasing to the average player. If loot wasn't entirely random, then simply there is "more for you to do."
Ladders create a new diversion - a chance to experience the game in small, finite way. But even that becomes tedious. Well, at least it did for me.
I know people may want to respond and say "hold up cowboy - Ladders are awesome and I'll play the shit outta the ladders!" But after you do it for a season or two-fivetyhundred, are you sure you won't be on these forums adding your innovation to other people's ideas because the game got boring for you faster than you expected?
I think itd be kinda nice to be able to focus your search for an item (be it set piece or legendary or whatever). Not to the extent of legendary crafting mats in game now, where its farm this monster until X item drops, but maybe something like Skeleton King has a higher chance to drop lets say set helms. So he could still drop everything else, and set helms could still drop everywhere else, but if you REALLY wanted a set helm it might be slightly more efficient than hoping for it in a rift. You could even limit it like he only has the extra chance if you finish all 5 bounties first or put it in campaign somehow so campaign isn't completely worthless.
Or even just act 1 in general has a higher chance of dropping helms and leggings, act 2 shoulders and chest, etc. Not changing the overall drop chance of set/legendary items, but changing the ratio. It would make it so overall rifts would still be the go to place to get legendary/set gear and you'd get the most quantity farming rifts (plus most shards for kadala where you CAN kinda focus on an item thats not torment only), but if you really really wanted a chest piece it might be worth farming act 2 bounties/campaign. Would give a reason to go back to campaigns (1 guaranteed legendary after all 5 acts is laughable) and give players a way to feel like they are working towards something specific rather than just praying the rift RNG gods are with them.
Being able to farm for our class set items would be a fun end game activity that I would gladly welcome. Right now I have two pieces of Inna's (helm and belt) and the belt rolled two affixes that I don't like. I took care of one of them, but I'm essentially waiting on sheer luck for another belt to drop with more favorable rolls. While its not the end of the world, I'd like to see a creative way that we could spend our time working toward the goal of getting those specific items and hope that RNG favors the rolls.
Personally, I'd like to see it be a crafting thing with some challenging mats to be able to make the item. For instance:
To make Inna's Favor (belt) you would need:
-The usual crafting items of a white belt, crystals, dust and gold
-A new legendary crafting material that is unique to each act boss - to which you need all five to make the item
-A new legendary crafting material that only drops out of caches - but can drop out of any act's cache
-a sub note on this, the legendary item from the cache could actually be a rune that with smart drops is specific to your character's skills. So if you get a rune for a skill that you do not currently use, you can keep it and continue farming until you get the rune you are looking for. Thus when you create the item it will roll with that specific skill and have a range to its percentage.
This would hopefully make act bosses desirable in an old-school sorta way, but also would give more motivation to do Bounties. Since Rifts have the strongest appeal for loot chances, I found myself not caring about Bounties once I had gotten the ring from Act 1. I would happily farm this process to be able to target craft my class set items. If I get unlucky with the roll, then I wash and repeat.
As I see it now, the three easiest areas for target farming class set items are crafting, Kadala or Caches. Which would you prefer - and if you like the crafting idea, what more could be added to it and why?
If this is too giving to the players, then perhaps it could be restricted to only the original class set items and not those added in RoS.
Monkalicious: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/OptimusPrime-12194/hero/79139477
Leave it alone.
We already have plenty of sets that can be farmed via specific monsters. Perhaps those sets can be buffed, but we don't need, and don't want, every set to be like that.
I'm really curious (and I'm not trying to argue or be bitchy) how does this placate or "give the casuals" more reward and hurt the hardcore, long game experience?
Right now you farm Rifts. Over and over and over again.
How long do you think you can sustain that one activity, before you the hardcore player gets bored? If Rifts are the only viable means of getting the great items you want - you can't sustain that forever and have a sense of variety in the long term game. I know they did it with Diablo 2 and everyone has constantly worked toward providing more than just that base, repetitive experience.
What I'm suggesting will actually help to provide length and longevity to the game - not take it away or make it a quick casual thing. Instead of spending time in a RIFT you spend time in multiple other areas of the game, to try and gather the materials you need to get a chance to craft and roll up a class set item. You still are spending the same amount of time - with no guarantee that you will get the items you need each time you kill a boss or get a cache.
And as I stated in the original post - limit it to the first generation of class set items. So the newer items created for Reaper are still only able to be found in the open world or through Rifts. Besides, I farm the Rifts NOT exclusively for just class set items. There are several legos that I'd like to have and experiment with.
Not to be rude or argumentative - but why does it sound like players are more willing to jump down the throat of a new idea as "ruining the game" rather than consider its potential effectiveness at making this game even better? A lot of posters are tired of the QQing, yet when a thread with a new idea to debate, or consider is created its immediately shot down with a short statement of "casual - ruin game - fuck no"
How do you expect innovation to occur and create more positive experience to your game?
@Sydney - I understand at face value you can say that this idea could be considered a chore. But I respectfully disagree with you and ask you take a look at my reasons why. Going through repetitive motions to get all the materials together to be able to craft a class set item (that still is effected by RNG and its rolls) is no different than farming Rifts over and over again. And for the person that wants to craft a complete set of their class set items - it would be a task they would focus on until its complete. What else would they do - farm Rifts? Isn't that in danger of becoming a chore too? Besides there are other set items that, as I have suggested, can still only drop in the open world. There are other legos (that I personally) would like to have and see what I can do with my DPS and build. You make it sound as if class set items are the only gear people would want to wear.
Monkalicious: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/OptimusPrime-12194/hero/79139477
so far i have gotten:
2 tal atmor
1 tal helm
2 tal belt
2 firebird helm
2 firebird shoulder
1 firebird chest
1 firebird pants
2 vyr boot
1 vyr pants
guess it will be getting harder and harder to achieve complete sets, as most of the pieces i already have
but current setting is all good imo, u want fancy set gears effects? get into rifts and kill things
Just to reiterate, we can already craft sets. Maybe those sets can use a buff, but still, there is no need to make every set craftable.
BurningRope#1322 (US~HC) Request an invite to the official (NA) <dfans> Clan
It's mostly that if I wanted progression through crafting I'd play Minecraft, not an ARPG. To me the whole "crafting" thing just feels foreign to the ARPG genre to begin with because it takes a ton of the focus off the "action" when you get people standing around town like that. It was something I didn't particularly enjoy about the orb-spamming in PoE either.
In general, I want my gameplay to center on killing monsters or interacting with other players as I find both of those activities to be engaging. I don't find crafting to be engaging. I don't really enjoy making gems and I enjoy making the gear even less. For me crafting is one step above salvaging which is a half step above vendoring. It's not something I really want to be doing as a primary means of attaining gear. No sir, no thank you.
To be upfront - I love crafting. And I like the play style of ARPGs. I love the idea of exploring a dungeon or area that has a boss that might drop a material I can use to make a piece of gear with. Not the end all be all of my gear - but something that will help propel me further into new environments. I love the sense of accomplishment for my hard work. But I also enjoy playing with friends and the sense of group accomplishment.
I recently got the Cain's plan to drop and started immediately farming Magdha. I spent about an hour solo, crafting two pieces. In the mean time there were several call outs for Rift spots in clan chat. I couldn't go - because I wanted to complete this solo task I had chose to do. I didn't care for that at all.
So I started thinking about ways I could suggest the game become better than it already is. I thought up the idea of crafting the set pieces. I brought it to these forums and it gets welcomed with lovely open arms.
But after your post Shaggy and your willingness to have a DISCUSSION - I can see a new idea. A way to combine your wishes and mine together intoa whole new idea to be discussed and debated and hopefully not told to fuck off because of something new.
So here goes:
What if Rifts spawned a mini boss at 50%? What if that boss had a loot table that drew mainly from crafting materials, set items, shards and maybe a REALLY high pay out of gold, since some folks are starting to run out of their billions? The crafting materials that drop can be used for current plans or if something like I have suggested (crafting set items) comes into play than those materials can drop from this mini boss. Now we have group play, targeted farming of set items and more reasons to play the game?
What do you all think? Shaggy - what do you think? Would that be something that you'd be interested in?
@skulldance: thank you for the compliment. I understand that people's negative backlash can be frustrating - it is to me - but so I can share with you; I don't see it as trolling. I see it as long time posters in these forums getting irritated with new people using the forum to complain. When anyone spends too much time fighting back against what they don't believe in, they tend to fight back at everything - even something that might be fun to talk about.
Would you rather have a fun discussion about a new idea? Or make short curt posts of "fuck no" so you can get back to playing the game or hopping in another "QQ" thread and be witty in tearing another person apart - I don't know.
Monkalicious: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/OptimusPrime-12194/hero/79139477
lol how exactly is it free when they're playing the same game/ doing the same thing as you? You're paying for your items somehow?
I'm leery about even the current implementation of green/orange crafting because I don't think the game should be "farm Maghda" so that you can have enough "special item dropped by Maghda" to craft "some item of awesomeness." If I wanted that kind of gameplay I'd fire up an MMORPG and farm a boss ad infinatum. To me the randomness of loot is one of the major distinguishing features between an ARPG and an MMORPG. There are others, but it immediately comes to mind, for me, as one of the most pronounced differences. In an MMORPG each boss has a static (or mostly-static) loot table and when you kill them you get a subset of that loot table. In an ARPG you generally have a chance to get any item from any monster at any time.
And I'm not really sold on the blurring of the lines that the current crafting offers. I wouldn't really be on board with further blurring that line.
I'd also agree about the iffyness in regards to having to farm specific uniques/bosses for specific legendary mat drops. For as much as they tried to distance themselves from farming specific mobs i.e. farming bosses endlessly for legendaries..they've clearly taken that approach for these materials. While I understand they wanted to add an additional element to crafting..these things just make it more annoying. (i.e. frozenblood of Chiltara who spawns only SOMETIMES in a cave that shares a spawn with another cave.)
I guess I have to re-align my thinking to accept the fact that I do prefer a system like an MMO where you go to certain places and expect the potential of certain items. But I also the love feel that any moment you could break a barrel and see a green beam.
What I didn't care for in MMO's was the gameplay itself and the need for sooo many people to be able to accomplish anything. This is why I love the Diablo series and its feel. Plus mashing buttons is waaay more fun than "Now I cast fireball. Now I cast frost nova. Now I cast fireball again."
It goes back to where it all started for me - The Legend of Zelda. Fast paced ARPG style game play - amass a bunch of loot from dungeons that you had to use in other areas to progress. Can you imagine what The Legend of Zelda would be like if it had a Diablo game's loot system? I can: "DUDE - go farm dungeon one and kill all the bats, then leave game and do it again! They're easy and they can drop the best shit in the game! You don't need bows, swords or whistles - BOOMERANG IS SO OP!"
But I have to ask a larger question here - what do you add to the game to maintain longevity? Right now Rifts are the "most efficient" way to get items. If items are truly only able to be found randomly, then most players will continue to do Rifts. More generally, players will follow the most efficient system to get their chance at random loot. This means repetitive gameplay. Pindleskin = Alkazier run = Mira Emon = Rifts. Because the loot is random - why go anywhere else?
But if the item isn't random - if it is only able to be found in one area or has a greater chance to be found in one area - now you have repetitive variety.
Bounties did this. But they did it with a limited amount of items that were pleasurable to find. Unique crafting mats also do this, but they too are dependent on the plan to drop before you can really make this a priority.
I just don't understand why so many ask for innovation, but cry out against change? Surely people can see that Rifts have a shelf life before they become displeasing to the average player. If loot wasn't entirely random, then simply there is "more for you to do."
Ladders create a new diversion - a chance to experience the game in small, finite way. But even that becomes tedious. Well, at least it did for me.
I know people may want to respond and say "hold up cowboy - Ladders are awesome and I'll play the shit outta the ladders!" But after you do it for a season or two-fivetyhundred, are you sure you won't be on these forums adding your innovation to other people's ideas because the game got boring for you faster than you expected?
Monkalicious: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/OptimusPrime-12194/hero/79139477
Or even just act 1 in general has a higher chance of dropping helms and leggings, act 2 shoulders and chest, etc. Not changing the overall drop chance of set/legendary items, but changing the ratio. It would make it so overall rifts would still be the go to place to get legendary/set gear and you'd get the most quantity farming rifts (plus most shards for kadala where you CAN kinda focus on an item thats not torment only), but if you really really wanted a chest piece it might be worth farming act 2 bounties/campaign. Would give a reason to go back to campaigns (1 guaranteed legendary after all 5 acts is laughable) and give players a way to feel like they are working towards something specific rather than just praying the rift RNG gods are with them.
I need to be all silver and look like a noob so people will take me seriously!